travelling with infant - portable cribs? UPDATE post #27

[WatchingThemGrow]

I would compare the sleeping surface dimensions to PnP dimensions. Many parents fear their DC outgrowing the PnP b/c length/height b/c it means there will be a toddler too big for a containment device in a (likely) unbabyproofed environment. Not a good combination. We're at that point right now - where DS1 is too long to sleep in a PnP stretched out, but is nowhere near ready to sleep on an aerobed. Our trip next week will be interesting..

[mousemom]

We have a Phil & Ted's Traveller portable crib, which we got recently when Costco had them for $80. DS would not sleep in it, but I would still recommend it, if you can get a decent price on it. (He also would not sleep in a regular pack'n'play, so I don't think the crib was the problem.) The mattress seemed fairly comfortable (we used a 21" wide king size pillowcase as a sheet). The crib is very lightweight and easy to put together/take apart. It was also very sturdy - despite leaning against the sides, our toddler didn't tip it over. When we packed it, it took up about half of a larger rolling suitcase.

http://www.amazon.com/Phil-Teds-Trav...959058&sr=1-16

[mom2binsd]

One thing I did, wash the portable crib sheets with your babies/families regular laundry so it smells like the crib sheets he's used to.

[peanut520]

We have a Phil & Ted's Traveller portable crib, which we got recently when Costco had them for $80. DS would not sleep in it, but I would still recommend it, if you can get a decent price on it. (He also would not sleep in a regular pack'n'play, so I don't think the crib was the problem.) The mattress seemed fairly comfortable (we used a 21" wide king size pillow as a sheet). The crib is very lightweight and easy to put together/take apart. It was also very sturdy - despite leaning against the sides, our toddler didn't tip it over. When we packed it, it took up about half of a larger rolling suitcase.

http://www.amazon.com/Phil-Teds-Trav...959058&sr=1-16

We love ours. i compared it to the bjorn and couldnt see spending the extra money. we got our at costco too but before it was on sale. we planned to use it around the pool on our first family trip with my 10mo dd last year. so glad we brought it since dd refused to sleep in the crib the ritz carlton provided. we would make it up every night for her to sleep and it was portable and light enough that my husband carried to the pool every day so she had a place to safely sit and play and nap without us worrying.

[Snow mom]

Sounds like the Bjorn crib has won, but I still thought I'd put in my vote for the Kidco Peapod. It's super easy to setup, easy to take down (once you figure out which way to twist), and very small/lightweight. We got the plus model off Craigslist for a good price and I think it will last DD well into her toddler years.

[peanut520]

sorry i forgot to say that it will be going with us to FL, LV, and Jamaica again this year. i also find it that is about the size of a long skinny duffle bag. we must have a larger suit case because it only take up about 1/4-1/3 of our larger suitcase.

[twowhat?]

Just wanted to add - what we do with our P&P is to put a large towel, folded in half, on top of the pad and then put a P&P sheet over it. It adds just enough "softness" to make me feel better about putting a sleeping baby there. And we've never had a problem with it. If you will be traveling to the same family's house often, it is worth investing in a full-size crib (if they have the space), esp since your DS is big. It will last the longest and definitely provide a comfy sleeping space whenever you visit. And I'd vote for the IKEA Gulliver crib with an IKEA foam mattress Totally budget friendly AND comfy!

[♥ms.pacman♥]

thanks for the replies everyone. i just went to my local baby store to check a few of these out. they did have the BabyBjorn travel crib in stock, but not on display so i couldn't check it out unfortunately. they did have the Phil & Ted's travel crib on display, which seemed pretty nice (the "mattress" seemed more stable & comfortable than PnP, was lower to the ground) but it's $199 there so i figured might as well shell out $35 more for the BabyBjorn.

and as for Ikea cribs, i thought of that, however the family we travel to the most (my ILs) have a pretty small house and there would be no space for a crib there . actually the only reason they have a PnP at their house is not for DS, but for another grandbaby who my MIL babysits (it's a pink PnP ). also, we travel often to other places as well, so we'd still need a solution for when we stay in hotels etc. tho it is good idea to maybe have one ikea crib at my mom's house since when we do travel there, we tend to stay for a while (a week or so).

i guess the other issue with a Graco PnP is the size/bulkiness of it (we just have a sedan, so not a lot of space)...ideally we'd like something that fits inside a suitcase. plus the PnP mattress just doesn't seem stable (stable's not the right word..it just seems like you press down on it and the whole thing moves, KWIM? that seems to bother my DS because he moves & kicks a lot in his sleep and when he does that the whole thing kinda moves and i think it tends to wake him up). when he was small, my DS never liked the PnP but he liked the bassinet (which had wooden slab underneath so the mattrress thingy never sagged or moved).

[creativelightbulb]

what about the graco travel lite crib? I noticed no one mentioned that it is basically a mini PNP

we plan to use this as our travel crib until Peanut outgrows it...

http://www.amazon.com/Graco-Travel-P...1966546&sr=8-1

[baileygirl]

Looks like you already decided! Just to add for anyone else looking. We bought the Phil and Ted Travel Crib almost 3 years ago when we were traveling to Europe and wanted something that packs compactly. It was great for us, because it takes doesn't take up that much space in a suitcase. DS1 had no problems sleeping in it, and we are now using it with DS2. I don't think the BabyBjorn one was out at the time, so we didn't look at it.